Ground Beef Taco Meat

I just got the most awesomely amazing (fat kid) idea to do with my leftover taco meat – MAKE NACHOS. Yeah, I just did that… I needed the energy to write this post, ok? I melted raw cheddar cheese over tortilla chips in the toaster oven while heating the leftover meat on a skillet with some chicken lard. Dip that combo in some Clint’s Hot Salsa, and you have yourself a mini-meal! The husband mentioned getting his cheat meal of pizza for dinner tonight, and I want NOTHING to do with it. That’s why I’m trying to get some food in me before he arrives home from work. That and I may or may not have already eaten pizza earlier this week while he had a buddy over to discuss work matters. Shhh. I’m pregnant, remember?

My nacho mini-meal

Speaking of that… why don’t people recommend prenatal massages more often? I treated myself to one today (it’s been a really long couple of weeks/6 months) and I left that place feeling as though I was floating on a cloud. Then the ladies at the front desk ask, “How do you feel?” Like I could say anything besides, “Awesome”. Then they slip in the, “How much gratuity would you like to add?” Tricksters. Then I kind of ruined that “awesome” feeling by heading straight to the grocery store… at 5pm… and I saw way too many recognizable faces. Next time I need to wear a baseball cap after a massage. I wasn’t exactly looking “hot”.

Anyway… back to the making of the taco meat. I looked in the fridge last night after getting home from work and saw that all we had was some bacon and a pound of beef. B-O-R-I-N-G. (Hence the mandatory trip to the grocery store today.) But then I remembered we had leftover corn tortillas from my cousin’s visit, jalapenos and cilantro… and I just so happened to have one last can of tomatoes in the pantry. I know I know, canned tomatoes are a big “no-no” because of the BPA’s, but I am going to try really hard for this to be the last can I purchase that does not state “BPA Free”. I’d also like to tell you that our corn tortillas were of the highest quality, sprouted corn version, but that would make me a liar. There are lots of people who pretend to be perfect, but that’s not what I’m here to do. Not that I’ve hidden my imperfections very well at all.

Because of our limited “food on hand”, I surprisingly ended up making some magnificent meat that I MUST share (and I haven’t a doubt it would taste just as good with ground turkey or chicken). The bacon is optional. The husband loves to add bacon pieces to his burrito bowl at Free Birds, and I didn’t think one pound of meat would be enough to satisfy his and my hunger last night, so I threw in the bacon. I am sure it would still taste just as delicious without it.

Step 1: BACON. In the skillet that you plan to prepare your entire meat concoction, cook your bacon until crisp. Then remove the bacon and set aside (on a paper towel works) and drain most of the grease from the skillet however you choose to do so. We save ours in a pickle jar for future food preparations. *This is a good time to prepare your diced onion & jalapeno, and measure all your seasonings into a small bowl that you can easily pour over the cooked meat later.

Step 3: ADD THE REST, BOIL THEN SIMMER. At this time, add your canned tomatoes, chicken broth, jalapeno, and spices. Once you have all the ingredients combined, bring it to a “boil”. And by boil I mean it will begin to bubble a little, but nothing crazy. That’s when you reduce the heat to medium (level 5 of 10) and let it sit, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’ll notice it all begin to thicken – if not, turn up the heat a tad.

Approaching the “boiling” phase.

Step 4: CHOP EXTRAS, ADD & EAT. Chop your bacon into bits. I also wanted to top mine with cilantro, so I chopped up some of that as well, but that’s a personal preference (that I highly recommend). Once the 15 minutes passes and you have yourself a thick, meaty skillet of taco meat, throw in the bacon bits, mix around and voila! We chose to make actual tacos, so I also diced up some fresh avocado for myself, but the husband won’t touch that stuff. “It’s a texture thing.” Weirdo.